Bible Question:
"endure to the end" [Mt 10:22, Mt 24:13, Mk 13:13]. If Christians are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone, then what do these verses mean? Isn't 'enduring to the end' an extra something we have to do? And if so how can we be saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone? |
Bible Answer: Good question. We are indeed saved by grace alone through faith alone through Christ alone. The Bible also teaches that all of those who truly have been saved by grace alone through faith alone through Christ alone will indeed endure to the end. That in itself is a work of grace in our lives wrought by the Holy Spirit. This is what is known in Reformed theology as the perseverance (or preservation) of the saints. We are not only regenerated and justified by God, we are kept from finally falling away from the faith through the gracious work of God in our lives. In this way, we can easily say that both the passages on enduring to the end apply to believers as well as passages which say that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). Those who endure to the end ARE those who have been saved by God's grace alone though faith alone in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone! --Joe! |